Young team of tennis players captures metro and sectional championships; winning at nationals will be a tougher order

ÂÂWinning the recent United States Tennis Association 14-under sectional championship was no big deal for Bulls Head coach Radhi Majmudar Aziz. Been there, done that.

View full sizeStaten Island AdvanceStaten Island Team Wins 14 and Under Advanced Title at USTA Eastern Jr. Team Tennis Championships This past weekend, the Richmond Racquets from Staten Island, NY, won the 14 and Under Advanced title at USTA Eastern Jr. Team Tennis Championships. The team will now be competing at the USTA JTT National Championships in October.

But this time around there were three newcomers who were not on the 2010 12-under champs.

“We’re a young team with an average age of 11,” said Ms. Aziz of the undefeated Richmond Racquets who did not let age factor into snagging May’s Metro and sectional titles.

Of course, stepping up to the national scene for the first time against 16 other sectional winners in Cayce, S.C. (nationals played only on the 14- and 18-under levels) will be a tall — literally and figuratively — order.

Competing is Ms. Aziz’s metier, an area in which her rich net history has created champions dating back to 1998.

“You never know,” she says of her youthful, but not inexperienced charges, who usually play their matches and practice on the courts at Willowbrook’s College of Staten Island or the Hillside Swim Club in Bulls Head.

Each member — newbies Gary Fishkin, Danny Nuhzny and Brittny Jo Ferreire join returnees Kemal and Miriam Aziz and Sam Vagner — knows the importance of team tennis format (total number of games won in boys’ singles, girls’ singles, boys’ doubles, girls’ doubles, and mixed doubles determines the victor).

“You’re never out of a match, a teammate can pick you up,” Ms. Aziz explained. “That’s what makes team tennis exciting and fun.” ÂÂ